shadow

The Greatest Mystery Ever: What the Cross Tells Us about Jesus

I love a good mystery. My favorite mystery writer is Mary Higgins Clark, and I’ve managed to collect all but a few of her entire works. But the greatest mystery ever told is why God chose to redeem mankind through Christ’s death on the cross. This week we’ll explore the mystery of the cross – foolishness to the unsaved but the power of God to those who claim Him as Lord and Savior (I Cor. 1:18).

 

What the Cross Tells Us about Jesus

For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many. 

Mark 10:44, HCSB

IMG_3397Jesus said the words in today’s Dose verse. He knew he came to earth to die. But first, he would show us what God is like. After all, He and God were One! The picture Jesus painted of God was that of a servant. Healing, teaching, comforting, washing feet, even correcting – I like those images.

In truth, I don’t like the image of Jesus dying on the cross. I would rather see the one of Him emerging from the tomb on Easter Sunday morning. But Jesus as servant is also Jesus as suffering servant. He came to die, so that we might live.

What does the cross tell us about Jesus? First, Jesus’ motive was love. If God is love, and Jesus is God, then Jesus is love, as well. His most significant act of love was His death on the cross—not for His benefit but for ours. Paul said,

“Walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”

Eph. 5:1-2

Second, Jesus had a choice. He could have called 10,000 angels to rescue Him from that tree, but instead He chose death. That’s why His death is called a sacrifice and not a murder or a killing. Jesus gave all He had voluntarily! Third, He was obedient to His Father (Phil. 2:8). Jesus left heaven, giving up His royalty and equality with God, to humble Himself as a mere human. In the garden, He prayed, “Not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39).

Fourth, Jesus was leaving us an example. Peter said we are to walk in His steps (1 Pet. 2:21). That’s great, right? I’d love to visit the Holy Land and walk where Jesus walked. Unfortunately, that’s not what Peter meant. Peter said Jesus’ example was as a suffering servant. That means we will suffer for our faith, also. “But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called” (I Pet. 2:20-21).

Following Christ’s example means being a living sacrifice, pleasing to God in all things. If we are not willing to make that commitment, then we are not followers of Jesus. Have you asked Him to be more than your Savior, the One who paid the ransom for your sins? Let Him be your Lord—master of everything.

Following Christ, who followed His Father,

Betty

The Greatest Mystery Ever: What the Cross Tells Us about God

I love a good mystery. My favorite mystery writer is Mary Higgins Clark, and I’ve managed to collect all but a few of her entire works. But the greatest mystery ever told is why God chose to redeem mankind through Christ’s death on the cross. This week we’ll explore the mystery of the cross – foolishness to the unsaved but the power of God to those who claim Him as Lord and Savior (I Cor. 1:18).

 

What the Cross Tells Us about God

 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 

1 Cor. 1:25

Version 2Recently my pastor challenged each of his Wednesday night Bible study class members to present his or her interpretation of the meaning of the cross. For example, did we agree with the penal substitution theory, or the ransom theory, or the victory theory—to name a few.

In case some of you are rolling your eyes right now, let me encourage you to read on. How you feel about the cross is the most important decision you’ll ever make. In fact, it’s a matter of life and death! Your opinion on this topic makes the difference for every daily decision, every thought, every action. It determines how you live your life.

So I took up his challenge. In the process of formulating my answer, I had to deal with the five issues represented by the Daily Dose titles for this week. So let’s jump in. What does Jesus dying on the cross tell us about God the Father? First, it tells us God loves us so much He was willing to sacrifice His only Son to save us from the penalty of sin (John 3:16-18). Why does He love us that much? Because we are His children, made in His image. Read 1 John 3:1. Yes, right now!

Second, it tells us God had a plan. When His original intention for fellowship with mankind was marred by the sin of Adam and Eve, He set His plan in motion. You see, our sin wasn’t a surprise that caught God off guard. He’d anticipated it from the foundation of the world (1 Cor. 2:7). Paul said our salvation was given to us in Christ Jesus “before time began” (1 Tim. 1:9).

Third, it tells us God’s plan worked. “For all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23) but “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). Through Christ’s sacrifice, we are adopted “sons” and restored us into full fellowship with Him (Gal. 4:4-7).

God’s plan was so foolish, it was wise! It was wiser than all of mankind’s wisdom. If you share God’s plan with a relative, co-worker, or friend, and if that person says it all sounds silly, then she is just being a foolish human!  (See 1 Cor. 1:18.) Don’t let her attitude stop you. Once the Spirit grabs hold of her, He will reveal God’s truth—the truth of His love.

Loving God, who first loved us,

Betty

The Desires of Our Heart: Delight Yourself in the Lord

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37:3-4 seems a little short and simple to study for a full week, but the longer I sit with these two verses, the more I’m finding new troves of treasure in each of them. Truthfully, I find myself focusing on that last part – the Lord giving me the desires of my heart – with much more excitement and passion than I feel in the instructions before those words. I spend so much time chasing a calling or a desire of my heart, that I forget the instructions he has so beautifully laid out before me: Trust in Me. Do good. Dwell in the land. Befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in Me. 

I’d love to spend this week together turning our attention to those things and seeing how the Lord transforms and grants us the desires of our hearts when we put things in their right order.

 

Delight Yourself in the Lord

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

FridayMany times in life I’ve gotten this verse backwards. I’ve believed that getting the desires of my heart would cause me to delight in the Lord. I’ve thought that getting what I want will nudge me closer to the Lord, and I would measure the strength of my relationship with the Lord based on what I saw Him doing for me.

But this verse flips everything back to how it needs to be. We must delight in the Lord first. We must find our ever-present, ever-growing foundation of joy in Him and Him alone. And then He will give us the desires of our hearts.

The funny thing about doing this the right way – delighting in the Lord first – is that oftentimes it changes the desires of our heart. Finding our joy in the Lord first changes our hearts to be more responsive to His.

Delighting in the Lord frames and changes our desires to look more and more like His desires. My desire to travel and see the world has been constantly refined into a desire to follow where the Lord may lead me to be a reflection of Him. He delights to give us what we desire because we begin to desire the same things that He desires for us. Delighting in the Lord looks a lot like seeking Him first, over all things. It’s looking to Him in good and bad, and holding fast to His promises and the joy of our salvation.

He is the only place that our joy is secure and complete, and remaining faithful to that allows us to pursue Him in the pursuit of our heart’s desires.

I encourage you – “Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Chelsey